James Gunn Responds to Zendaya Casting Rumor for 'Spider-Man: Homecoming'

James Gunn and Chris Pratt at Comic-Con (Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
James Gunn and Chris Pratt at Comic-Con (Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

Late last week, The Wrap reported that Zendaya — the 19-year-old Disney Channel star — would be playing Mary Jane Watson, the famed girlfriend of Peter Parker in next year’s Spider-Man: Homecoming. There’s yet to be any confirmation from official sources, but the Internet responded as the Internet will: Given that Mary Jane has traditionally been a Caucasian character (she was previously played by Kirsten Dunst in the first Spider-Man movies), and Zendaya is of mixed-race descent, there was a firestorm in certain fanboy corners, which objected to the idea of reimagining the character. And now, this don’t-mess-with-tradition argument has been countered by one of Marvel’s biggest directors.

In a new Facebook post, Guardians of the Galaxy helmer James Gunn — whose own franchise boasts a distinctly multicultural cast — has chimed in on the brewing controversy. While he admits that he can neither confirm nor deny that Zendaya is, in fact, playing Mary Jane, Gunn takes to task the idea that comic-book figures should forever be stuck looking exactly like they did when they were originally introduced.

Zendaya earlier this year (Photo: Jason Kempin/Getty Images)
Zendaya earlier this year (Photo: Jason Kempin/Getty Images)

“For me, if a character’s primary attribute — the thing that makes them iconic — is the color of their skin, or their hair color, frankly, that character is shallow and sucks. For me, what makes MJ MJ is her alpha female playfulness, and if the actress captures that, then she’ll work.”

As Gunn himself notes, this isn’t the first time Marvel has taken such a tack — just last year, Michael B. Jordan had to cope with an intolerant backlash over his casting as Fantastic Four’s Johnny Storm (a.k.a. the Human Torch), who began life on the page as a blond-haired, blue-eyed stud. If Zendaya is assuming the role of Peter Parker’s most famous girlfriend, she’ll no doubt have to weather a similar storm when Spider-Man: Homecoming — starring Tom Holland and also featuring Michael Keaton, Donald Glover and Marissa Tomei — hits theaters on July 7, 2017. At least she now knows that she’ll have Gunn in her corner, whose post concludes with the inarguable point: “If we’re going to continue to make movies based on the almost all white heroes and supporting characters from the comics of the last century, we’re going to have to get used to them being more reflective of our diverse present world.”

You can read Gunn’s entire post here.